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View Full Version : Shasta 30L Backpack, what do you think?



BenOnAdventures
08-18-2015, 17:21
Hey adventurers, it's been awhile but I wanted to ask your opinion on the Shasta 30L Weather Defense Pack by Outdoor Products, what do you think of it? I know its in Walmart but it seems to be a pretty solid pack! Here's my review on it: http://benonadventures.com/2015/08/18/review-tuesday-outdoor-products-30l-shasta-pack/ I'd love to hear your opinions on my review, also feel free to comment anything else adventurous! Let's talk!

Venchka
08-18-2015, 22:57
What do you plan to do with it?

Wayne

Sent from my AT100 using Tapatalk

Traveler
08-19-2015, 08:31
I presume you are looking for some critique on the review. I offer the following for consideration;

What is the pack designed for? The manufacture states pretty clearly its a daypack, but you have ramped that up to an overnight use pack.

How well does the pack perform to keep water out when hiking through a day of moderate rain? Sitting static on the ground is one thing, having it on and forcing it to move dynamically with you is another. Water tends to seep or wick through connection points of shoulder straps, waist belts, pocket stitching, etc. The most common water entry into packs is against your back where you cannot keep the water sealed out easily, how did the pack fair in rain with that issue should be noted.

How much does this pack cost? A review should include a price spread or the MSRP at minimum so people can use the information intelligently. There was no pricing information in four sources I looked through to find this, so I gave up. Absent any pricing information I have no clue if I am looking at a $35.00 or a $120.00 pack.

The pack overall looks stripped down from similar packs in the same class. The manufacturer claims this to be a day pack. If you are promoting this as a pack for overnight, you should have stuffed your gear for an overnight and taken some photos of what that looked like in the rear of the pack that will be against your back and the front of the pack. hoof it into a camp area several miles in and walked out to get a feel for what the pack did when fully or over loaded. How does the pack ride with 20 lbs or so in it? Where are the chafing points, does the hip belt take weight off the shoulders, can you hang things from the back body securely, how does the pack flex and move with your body, is there any ventilation between your back and the pack to reduce sweat and stay cool, do the shoulder straps tend to pull off your shoulders, is there a sternum strap, how easily can water containers or hydro bags be accessed, and other similar points should be covered.

The pack overall looks stripped down from similar packs in the same class. Comparatively, the Osprey Escapist (32L) pack has a lot of features that day users would want, including some that someone on an overnight would probably like to have with a weight of 2.57 lbs. The Shasta Pack did not have many of the features listed in their website as the Osprey did, nor did they list its weight. You cited a 2.3 lb weight I presume you weighed the pack yourself or I missed the weight in their feature bullets.

If this pack performed well on your trip through the rain and everything else went well, if it were $60.00 less, or more than the
OspreyEscapist at $130.00, I might consider it. The bottom line is the pack claims to be waterproof, which many here will agree, is a difficult obstacle for any pack to meet without special treatment, covers, and liners. That would be what I would try to prove/disprove as a reviewer first, then tackle the other attributes (or lack of them) against other packs of the same class.

Hope this helps!